Cooper praised the 25-year-old Kentucky-born actor in an interview with E! News to promote his new film Burnt, in which he reunites with his American Sniper co-star Sienna Miller. Speaking after Miller revealed she turned down a two-hander play following the discovery that she was earning less than half her male co-star’s wage, the three-time Oscar nominee said Lawrence was right to speak out.

“If you think that you only deserve a certain amount and that’s not correct, it’s about changing that mindset and sticking up for yourself the way that Sienna did,” said Cooper, who was one of the male cast members to earn more than Lawrence for American Hustle. “So that’s a great thing.”

He also told Entertainment Tonight: “There’s a double standard in the whole world, yeah, for sure. This is just one aspect. Anytime there’s a place where a voice can come out and be outspoken – something Sienna did, or Jennifer – that’s great … I think it is making a difference.”

Watson, who has been vocal on equality issues in her role as a goodwill ambassador for UN Women, tweeted simply: “O Jennifer Lawrence I love you so.” Jessica Chastain, who has spoken out to attack Hollywood’s treatment of women, and the prominent actor and director Elizabeth Banks also expressed their support on Twitter.

But she added: “I’m over trying to find the ‘adorable’ way to state my opinion and still be likable. Fuck that.”

In other Jennifer Lawrence news, the actor looks set to join a forthcoming film from Darren Aronofsky after leaving Richard Linklater’s The Rosie Project. Variety offers few details about the untitled project, other than to suggest that it will be independently produced, which usually means for a relatively low budget and outside the five major studios’ main distributive arms. Lawrence is expected to have more time on her hands to pursue passion projects from 2016, with her roles in big budget action sagas The Hunger Games and X-Men due for completion.